Patients’ satisfaction with the current access to and the quality of WASH services in rural hospitals

BACKGROUND: Problems with access to safe WASH entail a deterioration in both the social and economic situation in the country and health and well-being of the people. The current study attempted to determine the patients’ satisfaction with the current access to and quality of WASH. METHODS: The survey was carried out in the hospital of the Shet district, located in the central part of Kazakhstan. Overall, 188 patients were interviewed. The obtained data was analysed aided with Epi Info 7. RESULTS: Almost all patients (99.47% [95% CI: 97.07-99.99%]) used the water, but 48.4% [95% CI: 35.49-66.62%] of them used it for drinking needs. Of all the respondents, 53.19% [95% CI: 45.79-60.49%] rated the color of water as “good”, smell - 57.45% [95% CI: 50.04-64.61%], taste - 45.21% [95% CI: 37.96-52.62%] and 69.15% [95% CI: 62.02-75.67%] indicated the absence of turbidity. However, 35.11% [95% CI: 28.3-42.39%] of respondents considered that the water supply source is not reliable and only 17.02% [95% CI: 11.94-23.17%] of them gave for the water quality the maximum 10 points on a 10-point scale. The type of water supply source used in the hospital statistically significantly affected the patients’ assessment of the taste of water (χ2=6.55, p = 0.04) and the reliability of the source (χ2=6.88, p = 0.03). Overall, 43.09% [95% CI: 35.9-50.49%] of respondents indicated that the available services of WASH were not adapted for them. There are also no gender-segregated toilets and conditions for hygiene during menstruation for female patients (89.89% [95% CI: 84.67-93.8%]). CONCLUSIONS: Thus, in rural regions, the separation of toilets by gender, conditions for women during menstruation and the adaptation of the WASH for people with disabilities have been missed. There is also no proper understanding of the WASH services among patients. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: The research is funded by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Grant No. AP09058465). KEY MESSAGES: • WASH management in rural hospitals needs to adhere to the principle of “leave no one behind” and pay more attention to building the capacity of patients in the field of WASH. • Rural regions represent the biggest challenge in achieving SDG 6 in Kazakhstan.